


The North Star

by PalestAzure



Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22174276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PalestAzure/pseuds/PalestAzure
Summary: Talia reminisces about a special connection she has with Bane.
Relationships: Bane/Talia al Ghul
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The North Star

The sky had finally cleared after a month of gray clouds and snowfall. There was no star that could be hidden that night. Millions of them flickered in the night sky reflecting off the snow that covered the natural landscape of mountains and trees surrounding the base of the League—her home. They created an image of serenity that filled her heart with nostalgia.

Talia sat on the ledge of the roof far from where any members inhabited the base. It was her private spot where she took refuge whenever she needed a moment to herself. That night she looked at a particular star she had been unable to see in months. She was stressed from the demands of her responsibilities, but, most importantly, she missed her best friend.

Her friend had risen from his pain and injuries to be, in her opinion, the League’s best warrior. Although her father was cold towards him, she knew her father was aware of how valuable his skills were; therefore, her friend was always sent away on missions and returned successful each time.

The star’s appearance could not have come at a better time for her because he was away handling an operation in Russia. The time they were able to spend together grew less and less, and her stomach sank every time he told her about his leaving. She waited for the day when she would be allowed to join him on a mission instead of only being sent off to deal with negotiations. While molding snow in her hands, her eyes fixated on the brightness that gave her comfort.

Her interest in stars began six years ago when she was nearing 16. On that night she went to her friend’s room to talk with him. Her day had not gone well. She was overtaken numerous times by her father during her training, which she had been completing routinely every day for the past year. She knew he was being strict on her to make her reach further than her potential, and disappointing him was what she worked so hard not to do. Talia was feeling uncertain about herself and questioning her own abilities. Her friend was the only one who could ease her pain, and she wanted nothing more than to be close to him at that moment after her bad day.

When she entered his room, it was dark. She did not seek out a light because the dark was a part of her much like it was for her friend. She called out his name—the name that only she and her father knew to be his true name. Everyone else knew him as Bane, which he acquired among the League from the intense training sessions. He made it clear to each of his opponents of his serious brutality. 

He was not in his room and must have either been training or briefing with his men and her father about another mission. She went to the window, opened it, and climbed out onto the ledge. She easily scaled the wall until she reached the roof where she sat with her legs hanging over the edge. She let out a soft sigh as she looked up at the clear sky. The stars were visible and brilliantly shining that night. She allowed all of her thoughts and feelings to consume her mind. She could not have allowed her emotions to get the best of her in front of her father. Such a weakness was not to be expressed, but at that moment she felt like a failure.

She felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders. “It is cold tonight, mi Osita.” It was a nickname of endearment he called her since their time in the Pit together. Bane sat down beside her as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself. It was her mother’s blanket. She and Bane always wrapped themselves with it during their cold nights in the Pit. When she had escaped, Bane kept the blanket as his only link to her.

Talia was silent and deep in thought. Bane knew her better than anyone, and he noticed she was upset over something. However, he was always patient with her, and let her speak when she was ready to tell him whatever was on her mind. That was the special bond they had: there were no secrets between them; they told each other anything and everything.

Bane looked up at the stars with her. He felt her drape part of the blanket across his torso as she leaned her body against his chest. He put his arm around her and pulled her in close, trying to keep her as warm as possible. “Do you remember when we looked at the stars together for the first time?” he asked. “I knew you had looked at them before, but it was as if you had never seen them before that night. Your eyes grew large and your smile was wide across your face. I could see each and every star reflected in your eyes.” As Bane was retelling that specific moment from their past, Talia relived the memory in her mind.

She was sitting next to her friend who was lying on a bed, bandaged up, and hooked to an IV drip that supplied him morphine for his pain. Her father had brought him to the base only two days before. She had requested to have his bed next to the window because she wanted him to experience what was outside of his lifelong darkness.

Bane had only awoken a few times since he was brought in. The first time he awoke, he looked at her with tired and confused eyes. He did not recognize who she was because his vision was blurry. He grunted under his bandages and then blacked out. The second time he awoke, he saw her putting away bandages and medicine at the other side of the room. His eyes finally focused and he whispered something that made Talia turn her head and look in his direction. Seeing that he was awake, she ran over to his side. She knelt down beside his bed and clasped one of his bandaged hands between both of hers.

He became teary-eyed at the vision before him. Her hair had grown out into a beautiful chocolate brown, but her stunning blue eyes were the one thing he could never forget. “Mi… Osi… ta,” he struggled to communicate.

Talia raised his hand to her mouth and kissed it. “Yes, it’s me.” Her voice cracked a little as tears began swelling up within her eyes. They stared at each other in silence, taking in the image of what they had not seen in a year’s time. Bane’s focus left Talia and turned to the scene outside the window behind her. Talia noticed his eye movement and looked behind her. She smiled. “I promised you we would see the sky together one day. Isn’t it beautiful?” Bane diverted his eyes back to Talia who was now fully engaged in the image outside, and he felt joyful looking at the expression on her face. Seeing her this happy outside of the Pit is what he sacrificed himself for, and he would do it again and more just for her to smile the way she was at that moment.

Bane finished telling her what he remembered from that day, but Talia did not respond. The memory made her think about their time in the Pit together that led up to that moment. Her life was better now, but a part of her felt sad at the thought of her former home.

“Do you ever miss it?” she finally broke the silence.

Bane tilted his head down to look at her. “Miss what, my dear?”

“Our home.” Bane’s breathing grew deeper upon hearing her statement. He knew what she was talking about, and it unsettled him a bit. Her life was no longer down in that hell, and he only wanted her to look forward into the light of the outside world. “I have been thinking more about it these days.”

“Why is that?”

Talia sat up straight and clung to the blanket. Bane could see a sadness in her eyes that stabbed him like a knife to his heart. “No matter how bad it got down there, it was my home because I always had you. We are both so busy these days that I barely see you anymore.”

“So it is not the Pit which you miss, but our time together?” Talia took a moment to ponder his question. She thought she was feeling a homesickness for the Pit no matter what she went through down there. Her friend is what got her through each day with his games, his stories, his warmth, his smile, his laughter, and his friendship. At times she had been feeling inferior in her new world and her new life with her father that there were moments when she just wanted to return to a place she was familiar with.

“I miss you,” she mumbled softly, “so much.” Bane grabbed her cold hand and held it within his palm, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

“I am right here, mi Osita. What is troubling you this night?”

“Are you happy here?”

Bane grew concerned with her questions. “Are you _not_ happy here?”

“It is not that. I just feel…” Talia did not know how to describe her feelings, but she tried for him. She turned to look straight into her friend’s eyes. “I feel like I am failing my father. There is a part of me that feels that I am not good enough, and that I am incapable of meeting his expectations.” Her eyes began turning red as they never left Bane’s gaze. He was the only person she showed her vulnerability to. Bane cupped her head between his hands.

“Who survived the Pit, Talia?” She did not respond. “Who made the climb and found her father?”

She had escaped the Pit two years ago, and it had taken her a year to locate her father. In actuality, her asking around for a Ra’s al Ghul is what brought her to his curious attention. Who was this girl and how did she know about him? When the truth was revealed, her father immediately led his men back to the Pit for vengeance and to save her friend. Ra’s was hesitant about rescuing him at first, but the tears in her eyes that came during her telling him of all that her friend had done for her swayed his heart to fulfill her request.

Bane continued, “Who came back and rescued me? Who stayed at my side and helped me recover from my injuries?”

When her friend was returned to her, he was severely injured. She never left his side during his recovery. She also had a hand in the design of his mask due to her determination and genius at her young age. When he was capable of training, she always watched his performance from the floor above the main indoor training grounds. Her face never held back her proud smile and adoration for him.

Talia leaned her forehead against the cold metal of his mask. “I did, but…” she finally whispered.

“You should never doubt yourself because you are no ordinary person. You were the only one strong enough to ever escape. You are intelligent and capable of anything; I would not be here without you. You are the light that will illuminate this world with change.”

“But I would not have ever survived or escaped if it wasn’t for you. You are my strength that gives me the courage to do the things I must.” She closed her eyes and inhaled his familiar scent. “Right now, I am afraid. Afraid of being a failure to my father.”

“You have already experienced the worst hell no one could imagine. That experience alone should give you the confidence to reach your achievements. You will achieve much in this world, mi Osita. You are learning many new things. It is only natural to feel overwhelmed by them, but that does not mean that you will fail.”

“But I cannot defeat my father in my training. I can sense that he is disappointed in me.”

“Did training not go well today? Is that what is making you upset?” Bane chuckled a little. “Oh, my dear Osita.” Talia pulled away, her eyes narrowing in anger.

“And you find this funny?”

“No one has ever defeated you in training. You are faster than any of those men, and you always manage to get the upperhand. Your father, however, is not them. He is stronger, more skillful, faster, and more knowledgeable. You are still young. When you are older, I am certain there will come a time when your father will lose to you. When that day comes, I think he will agree you will be ready to take over the league.”

As usual, Bane made sense with what he had told her. He always knew the right things to say. “Well…” Talia’s eyes softened and she smirked. “I can still beat _you_.” She playfully jabbed Bane in his stomach, which he pretended made him flinch. It appeared what he said was helping to calm her mind.

“When I let you,” he responded. Talia could see the smile behind his mask reach his eyes, and he was looking at her in a way he would look at no other: lovingly. Talia smiled and leaned back against her friend. Bane wrapped the blanket back around themselves and protectively held her.

Bane stared at the stars for a moment before speaking. “Though I can understand your feeling of disappointment in yourself. I… Your father…” He paused and Talia knew why. The issue concerning him and her father was a difficult topic for him to talk about. She and her father had a good relationship until Bane became the topic of conversation. Those conversations always ended with her leaving before she lost her temper. She felt her father did not accept her friend, and this hurt Bane. Ra’s was like a father to him as well, and Bane fully believed in the League’s ideology and worked hard to please him. Ra’s rejection, however, left Bane feeling disappointed in himself.

Talia snuggled closer against him. “You’re the one person who shouldn’t feel disappointed. With everything you do for us, for him, and for me, there is no man greater than you and deserving of your position here. Don’t forget just how worthy you are.” She squeezed his hand to reassure him.

“It appears we both needed each other tonight.” Talia was surprised to hear how his voice almost resembled his original tone before the mask had changed it.

“I need you every day,” she shyly confessed.

“Although we may not be together as much as we used to, I will always be with you no matter the distance, mi Osita. Look there.” Bane pointed at a specific star in the sky. “Do you see that star?”

“Which one?”

“The brightest one. Do you know which star that is?” Bane felt Talia shake her head. “It is called the North Star or Polaris. That star is the symbol of home. If you get lost amongst all of these other stars, just direct yourself towards its light and you will never be alone.”

She smiled to herself. “You. You are my North Star.”

“As are you.” Bane nuzzled the top of Talia’s head with his mask.

Since that night, Talia always retreated to the roof on clear nights to stare at the North Star. Whenever Bane was away and she felt alone, all she had to do was look up at it and feel Bane was with her. Over time she had learned to be without him, but his words of encouragement and wisdom were always left in her thoughts. They gave her the strength to be her best for her father and for him.

That night was many years ago. Talia was now an adult who was a fierce and strong member of the League. She now had faith in herself and believed she could one day lead these men in the League’s efforts to better the world, which she would do with Bane at her side.

As she sat there thinking about her friend, she felt a blanket wrap around her shoulders. She smiled as Bane sat down next to her and pulled her into himself. No longer looking at the star, she closed her eyes and greeted him, “Welcome home, beloved.”


End file.
